Mendes carries Whalers to South final

HS Volleyball Playoffs: New Bedford 3, Walpole 0

With her New Bedford volleyball team trailing 24-16 in the first set, senior Kat Mendes went to the service line with the weight of the world on her shoulders. "I was so nervous, I was almost in tears," she said afterwards.

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By BILL ABRAMSON

southcoasttoday.com

By BILL ABRAMSON

Posted Nov. 9, 2012 at 12:01 AM

By BILL ABRAMSON

Posted Nov. 9, 2012 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

NEW BEDFORD — With her New Bedford volleyball team trailing 24-16 in the first set, senior Kat Mendes went to the service line with the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"I was so nervous, I was almost in tears," she said afterwards. "There was so much pressure not to miss on the last point. I knew I had to win 10 straight points and the pressure got tighter with every point."

A pair of aces, two Walpole High time outs and three kills from Kat Guillotte enabled the top-seeded Lady Whalers (19-1) to win those 10 straight points for a 26-24 first set victory.

It paved the way for a 3-0 South Sectional Div. 1 semifinal victory and a Saturday date with second-seeded Barnstable (18-1) for the sectional title. The championship match will be at Pembroke High at 5 p.m.

New Bedford won the second set, 25-22 and took the third set 25-19.

"We have three players who are better servers than Kat is and she was not my first choice, but thank goodness she was on the line," New Bedford coach Neil Macedo said. "Courtney Jenkins may be the best server. Kat Guillotte puts her serve in spots better than anybody and Chandler (Palmieri) has a nice floater that moves a lot. Tonight, it was Mendes."

The momentum from that first-set triumph dissipated pretty quickly as the Rebels (15-5) took a 5-2 lead to open the second set, but New Bedford rallied behind Jenna Peixoto's serving for a six-point run and 8-5 lead.

"I thought we'd get off to a good start in the second set, but we didn't," Macedo said. "We wasted all that momentum, but when we came back and took the lead, that was huge."

So was the play of Peixoto, the libero for the Whalers. Midway through the second set, she fell as she went for the ball and hurt herself. She didn't tell anyone, but her teammates knew and Mendes and Sydney Fournier covered for her in the back row.

"I kind of fell and something popped in my hip and knee," Peixoto said. "There was a lot of adrenalin and my teammates covered for me. I knew they wanted me in there."

Mendes stepped in front of Peixoto to make service returns and protect her teammate.

"I could tell there was something wrong," Mendes said. "Jenna is a great defensive player and is a huge part of our game."

Macedo didn't see the fall, but Peixoto had a sore hip from all the dives she has taken in making digs.

"I didn't know she was hurt until there was a timeout and she was teary-eyed," he said. "She just said it was her bruised hip from diving. If I knew she hurt the knee, too, I would have taken her out.

"She's the core of our defense. If I don't have her, I'll have to change the defense and that wouldn't be good."

WHAT IT MEANS: Barnstable is the team that knocked New Bedford out of the tournament in last year's semifinal. "They have better hitters than Walpole, but we're up for the challenge," Macedo said.

WHALER STATS: Guillotte had 14 kills, 13 digs; Mendes had 14 kills and 20 digs; Alyssa Kellick was 8-for-8 at the net with four kills and four blocks; Peixoto had 25 digs; Jenkins had two big kills at the end of the second and third sets.

NOTES: New Bedford is a small team compared to players like Walpole's 6-2 sophomore Summer King. "We make up for size with volleyball IQ," Macedo said. "When you're that small, you have to hit smart. We're small but aggressive. We hit the ball hard."